"Well, all I can say is that you are very lucky, Brother Humphrey. I happen to be on good terms with Duke Eudes[1]. Gui de Velle was one of his knights, after all. The Duke accepted that Gui had provoked you and that given his earlier behaviour, you had reason enough to kill him. Duke Eudes owes me from way back and he has decided not to pursue the matter further,” said Brother Clement of Lacydon, Humphrey’s commander.

Humphrey gave a sigh of relief. He was standing in his commander’s office, discussing his controversial action. It was over a week after his decision to execute the Gui de Velle, and Brother Clement had taken it upon himself to smooth the whole thing down.

Grateful, Humphrey glanced at the Brother Clement. The old man had been commander of Vezelay for the last thirty years. He was over seventy. An age few knights of the Hospital reached. His grey hair was thinning on the top of his head but was still thick, and quite long lower on his skull. Like most Hospitallers, he wore no beard. He had kindly brown eyes and laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. But he was not smiling now. He looked sad and concerned. 

Thanks to Brother Clement the consequences of the execution of Gui de Velle were minor. Humphrey got an official reprimand, of course. And a stern telling off from both his commander AND from a messenger of the Duke. Then the commandery paid a fine to Gui’s wife, Ermengarda. But because it was a case of one noble killing another, and in a situation that was assessed to be dangerous and provoked, there were no more consequences. Humphrey could hardly believe it when he first got the news.

He also felt extremely guilty. It was not the killing of Gui that made him feel this way, however. The man had killed pilgrims and was all but immune to the law. In his own opinion, Humphrey had done what needed to be done. No, it wasn’t Gui’s death that got to Humphrey. What really got to him, what made him feel guilty and angry with himself, was that he had skirted his duty to abide by the law. That was unacceptable. Could something be both necessary and at odds with his duty? He rattled his brain over that in the quiet of daybreak and late at night for many weeks.

It was a Hospitaller’s duty to protect pilgrims and aid to the poor and needy. Gui had attacked and murdered pilgrims. Sometimes in order to protect, one had to kill.  A brutal, unpleasant thing, but necessary. Humphrey acknowledged this.  But was the necessity there this time? As a Hospitaller, his role was to protect, not to deliver justice. Justice was the job of the secular authorities. A random knight, no matter how well-meaning was not responsible for going around and maintaining the law. In that sense Humphrey had acted beyond his competence, regardless of the Duke’s decision to forgive him.

Most of the brothers in Humphrey’s commandery felt he had done the right thing. They even respected him for it. But he still wished very much that he could have left the matter to the law. What also pained him a lot, was his commander’s disapproval of his choice. While Brother Clément had stood up for Humphrey, he did not agree with Humphrey’s decision. In fact, he had been quite outspoken about how much he disagreed with it.

“You should not have done this. Life is life, Brother Humphrey. You killing that brute did not return the lives of those people. Don’t be too swift in dealing out death. Repentance is always better!” he told Humphrey as soon as he received the report.

A peaceful, amiable man, Clement believed that violence should be avoided whenever possible. An unusual attitude, especially for a knight in a military order, but one he was steadfast about.

Many knights whispered that Brother Clement was not cut out to be commander. He prayed too much, and fought too little. He fasted all the time, making his body weak. He was more interested in processions and saints than in commanding his commandery. He always tried to do the best by everyone and to solve every problem in the gentlest manner possible. A good man, but a soft and weak one, people said. Not like a knight should be.  

Humphrey on the other hand admired Clement and his unusual attitude, even if he did see the impracticality. He believed that in a place like Bordeaux, where the Hospitallers rarely had military duties, a peaceful man in command was a good thing. Clement was honourable and committed to being a Hospitaller. He treated the vows and responsibilities of the Hospitallers seriously. A rare thing indeed. The breaking of vows and abusing of power were rife in other commanderies. People loved a good, steamy scandal about the Hospitallers and Templars, and many commanderies provided much material for such gossip. But not Vezelay. Under Bother Clement Vezelay was as proper as could be. And if someone was not acting proper, Brother Clement would rebuke gently and genuinely. And stubbornly.

The only thing Brother Clement was unable to be, was harsh. This would be a problem in some places, but not Vezelay. And on the rare occasion Brother Clement had a situation that required a sterner hand, he had his quartermaster, Brother Humphrey, to lean on. They were a good match for Vezelay, and Humphrey hoped he would not disappoint him again.

It was eight months after Humphrey decided to execute Gui de Velle,  when an important guest arrived at Vezelay.  The Hospital’s Master of France, the knight responsible for Hospitaller commanderies in the whole of France and neighboring regions! He arrived on a warm August day, accompanied by a numerous entourage. No one knew why. But that only encouraged gossip. The Master, Brother Gaspard de Caumont, was famed for his military exploits in the Holy Land. If talk was to be believed, he had led a successful raid deep on the other side of the border, reaching as far as the great city of Aleppo. He certainly had the scars of a fighting man, but whether the stories of his bravery and chivalry were true was quite another matter. He could be one of those brutish thugs who entered the Order to try to wash off the sins of their violent lives – through more violence. 

The Master was now sitting in the small office with Brother Clement, rubbing his scarred chin, and eying the elderly Commander of Vezelay sceptically. He wasn’t thrilled by the topic of his visit, but duty was duty. Gruffly he spoke:

“Look Brother, I know your experience is extensive and your opinions widely respected, but I’m not convinced by your recommendation of Brother Humphrey for commander. For one thing, he does not meet the requirements for a command post. He has not served in the Holy Land. We only give command to knights who have served at least four years in the Levant.”

Brother clement interrupted. “In theory, that is true” he said with a shrug. “But there have been precedents. Numerous ones in fact. And the case, as you said yourself, is highly unusual.”

“For another thing,” Gaspard de Caumont continued, annoyed that the old man had interrupted, “he is too young! Commanders are supposed to be in their thirties at least. To avoid…youthful impetuousness. How old is Brother Humphrey again?”

“Twenty-five. But he is one of the least impetuous people I know. Youth is not necessarily impetuous. Just as age does not guarantee widsdom...” Brother Clement looked at Gaspard pointedly.

“Lastly,” Brother Gaspard said loudly, “he has no prior command experience! Serving as commander in a such a troubled place – “

“Might require a fresh way of looking at things, and a different approach!” interrupted the old man, “Besides Brother Humphrey does have some command experience. My health is not good, as you may know. Walking is getting harder for me, I tire easily. For the last few years, Brother Humphrey has been acting as the de facto commander of Vezelay whenever I’m ill or too weak to lead. He is good at management and organisation.” Clement winced a little and added, “and he is capable hard decisions, and a stern hand, if it is needed.”

“He is the commandery’s quartermaster and treasurer, is he not?”

“Yes. But he is capable of much more. I will be sorry to lose him. But he can serve the Order better in Poitiers. And there is another advantage. Brother Humphrey has very unusual sleep patterns. In fact, he hardly sleeps at all. Four to five hours maximum, often less.”

The Master looked at Clement with surprise and opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted again, this time by a knock on the door.

Brother Humphrey, the topic of the men’s conversation, entered the room. He looked neat and presentable, but his eyes were a bit shoadowed from lack of sleep. He had spent the whole night before filling out paperwork connected to lay donations from the last year.

“Evening Commander,” he said to the old man then bowed, somewhat stiffly, to the Master of France, “My Lord,” he said politely, “I was told you wish to see me?”

“Yes. Sit down Brother,” Clement said quickly, “we have an issue to discuss with you.”

As Humphrey was sitting down, the old man explained:

“As you know the Hospialler commandery in Poitiers requires a new Commander. I have recommended you for the position!”

Humphrey’s eyebrows shot up in mute surprise. He stared from Brother Clement to the Master, just thinking it over. Finally, he said slowly: “I’m too young. And I don’t have the required overseas experience…”

Brother Clement’s lips curled into a humorous smile. “Excellent points! We were just discussing that with Master Gaspard,” he nodded in the direction of the Master.

“Your commander thinks you are up to the task anyway. “Gaspard said dryly, “should you be the man for the job, we might…uhm…bend the rules a bit. Heaven knows it happens. But that depends on the decision of the chapter. And the chapter will only consider it if I recommend you.”

“I see,” Humphrey pursed his lips. He had scowled a bit at the mention of ‘bending’ rules but did not comment.

“Would you be interested in the job?” Gaspard queried.

“If that is what the Order needs of me, then I will do it of course. But I would like to know more about the place. And why you think I would even be suitable.” Humphrey said slowly, clearly thinking it over.

“I expected a young man like yourself to jump at the possibility of promotion so early.”

“Why would I? I have a good life here. An understanding and just commander.” he nodded respectfully at Brother Clement, “I’m close to my family home, and there is not much fighting.”

“You don’t like fighting?” the Master asked, with a slight hint of mockery in his voice.

“Not in particular. If it is needed, I fight. But I do not take pleasure in it like some men do. Is that a problem?”

“Not really…” said the Master with a shrug. But he seemed doubtful.

“I think it’s an advantage in this case!” Clement interjected. “The Poitiers commandery was at the heart of a serious breaching of the rules. The previous commander was accused of brawling, armed assault, attacking civilians and cases of extortion of the poor. A man who does not enjoy fighting seems a much better person for the job than the typical bruiser or slick rich boy we usually put up for the job!”

“True enough,” agreed Gaspard. He turned to Humphrey and added, “I’m sure you have heard of Poiters Commandery being involved in scandal. And of the deposition of its commander.”

“Just rumours. Nothing specific.”

“I tremble to think what sort of sordid rumours you might have heard. We try to keep it quiet, but rumours always spread like wildfire. You see, the Poitiers commander, Aimery, was accused of pillaging the countryside around the city, violence against the brothers in his command and attacks on the city’s inhabitants. Also numerous affairs with women, forcing a woman to abort his child, and some serious cases of corruption and fraud.”

“And he is being deposed only now?” Humphrey asked.

Gaspard shrugged.

“It’s hard to discipline a man in an important position. It took us some time, but he’s been relocated to Corsica and is under a very strict commander. He will not embarrass us further.”

The Master of France noticed how both Clement and Humphrey exchanged disapproving looks, clearly disliking his offhand attitude to the issue. He grimaced in annoyance. He disliked these Holier-than-thou types. Everyone knew that Brother Clement was ridiculously devout. He was constantly in prayer. He wore a hairshirt under his habit. And some even said he refused to eat meat. But a young man like Brother Humphrey, sharing such sentiments was somewhat strange. Then again, maybe that uptight attitude would come in handy in Poitiers. God only knew what they should do with Poitiers.

Gaspard cleared his throat.

“We will be restructuring the entire Poitiers commandery. The commander was already sent away. But we will be redelegating most of the knights to different commanderies and bringing in new ones. After Brother Aimery’s excesses, we must present a new face to the populace of Poitiers.”

Clement snorted. Then he began to cough. Humphrey was up in an instant, helping the old man sit up straighter, passing him a glass of water and fetching another blanket.

The Master stood up too, though more slowly.

“I think we are finished here. I will recommend you for the post Brother Humphrey. You will be informed of the result of the vote in a month or so. Good day to you both.”

He gave them a bow, only as much, and not a millimetre more than necessary, and left the room.

After the scant, meatless supper they had every Friday, Humphrey remained in the refectory trying, uselessly, to write a letter. His family would want to know the news. The problem was he absolutely hated writing letters. He never knew what to say, or how to say it. Writing about himself seemed self-centered. But then again, if he started inquiring about the family members now, after two years in which he had not sent a single word, it would look strange. Ink dripped from the pen onto the short scroll. Humphrey sighed. After half an hour of staring at the empty piece of paper he decided he didn’t need to write the letter. If he was actually chosen, and he doubted he would, THEN he would visit them and tell them in person. No point in saying anything now. It would sound like bragging.